The road cycling program was the same as in 1952. The road event was conducted as a mass start race of 187.73 km., with 11 laps of a 17.0665 km course, in the Broadmeadows section of Melbourne. The team road race consisted of four riders on each team. For the first, and what would be the only, time, the team event was scored by adding up riders’ placements (ordinals) in the individual event, rather than adding times. This was the last time a team road race was held at the Olympics as in 1960 it would be replaced by the team time trial.
France won the team road race. The individual gold medalist was Italy’s Ercole Baldini, who had one of the great years for any amateur cyclist. In addition to his Olympic road race gold medal, he won the world championship on the track in the individual pursuit, and also broke his own amateur world hour record.
ITA
FRA
GBR
GER